A R C H I V E S
| RAMADAN DIARIES from 2002 Archive! |
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| jannah |
| 11/07/02 at 08:14:54 |
| Here is BroKhalid, Our first Installment!!! [color=darkblue] [u]Wed 5 November - A few hours before Maghrib[/u] Well only a few more hours before Ramadhan starts this year. I seem to have come across the hadith about Allah helping a servant by making him repent and turning towards Him, a lot lately. I can't help feel I'm lucky that Allah has let me live another year in order to observe another Ramadhan and inshaAllah another Laylatul Qadr. I made a decision earlier on this year to try and make a complete break from dunya this Ramadhan so no message board for a few weeks ;-) Coincidentally I was reading an article on the Ramadhan page by Imam Ghazali. [url]http://www.jannah.org/ramadan/innerfasting.html[/url] In it he described the extra special type of fasting and inshaAllah that's my particular Ramadhan resolution this year. [u]Wed 5 November - A few hours before Isha[/u] Travelling home after Maghrib I was reflecting on the start of the month and how the devils had already been changed. I was buzzing with excitement at going to the first Taraweeh prayer of the month but everyone else just seems to want to make it through the normal rush hour madness!! Oh well . ;-) [u]Wed 5 November - At the Masjid[/u] Got to the Masjid well before Isha. Its like a different atmosphere now that Ramadhan is here. ;-) This night also happens to be Guy Fawkes night in the UK, named after the man who tried to blow up Parliament. So of course the tradition is 'celebrate' this fact by holding bonfire parties and having loads of fireworks??? Go figure!! Anyway, we pray Taraweeh with the constant sound of fireworks outside.!! [u]Wed 5 November - After Isha[/u] I get home and head off to sleep early to get up for the first suhoor of the month tomorrow. I set two different alarms to make sure my wife and I don't oversleep. [u]Wed 6 November - Suhoor[/u] We oversleep!!! Alhamdulillah I set the alarms early so we could get everything done before Fajr starts. I'm never a big eater in the morning. I used to have a full meal when I was younger but this morning tea and biscuits suffice. [u]Wed 6 November - Fajr[/u] Alahamdulillah, we have lots more people at the Masjid for Fajr. Our Imam gives us a brief talk after the prayer, reminding us that Ramadhan is a time to increase your 'direct' acts of worship such as prayer and recitation of the Qur'an. Everyone feels they've been given a boost going in to the first day of fasting. [u]Wed 6 November - During the day[/u] Have a fairly uneventful day at work. Alhamdulillah as its winter in the UK, we break our fast at around 4:30 so certainly much easier than in the summer when Maghrib can reach 9/10pm in some parts of the country. I always find it takes a couple of days for your body to adjust to fasting and thereafter it becomes more routine. May Allah make it easy for all of us. [u]Wed 6 November - Iftar[/u] I forgot my dates for Iftar :( I make do with some water and a piece of cake and rush home to eat and go to Taraweeh [u]Wed 6 November - At the Masjid[/u] Alhamdulillah our Masjid prays Isha a bit later than others so it gives us working types a chance to rush back home, quickly eat and head out for prayer. Tonight there are loads more people than yesterday and we have to put people on the floors upstairs and in the basement. Including sisters I would have said we probably have in excess of 500 worshippers which is probably double the number we had not more than 3 years ago. No fireworks tonight thankfully ;-) Well that's my diary for the first few hours of Ramadhan and not even a tiniest glimpse of the message board. ;-) InshaAllah I pray that we all make the most of this month and may Allah accept our prayers, fasting and good deeds in this month. Wasalaam Br Khalid [/color] |
| 10/13/04 at 13:51:45 |
| jannah |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
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| gift |
| 11/08/02 at 04:36:43 |
| [slm] I'm not sure if this is way we're going to do this - but I'll post this anyway. Well heres my diary for yesterday - I hope its interesting. What Ive basically done is sat down at various points of the day, and written about those times. 2nd Ramadan 1423 / 7th November 2002 4:10am Its about 4:10am and its cold. One of the disadvantages of fasting in the winter months is waking up and having to fight the urge to jump back into bed, shivering under the duvet just 5 more minutes. Except those 5 minutes usually turn into half an hour! :( While Im grumbling at least we have central heating which will warm up the house in no time, there are those who have no such thing yet they still manage to wake up to pray tahajjud and fajr. 5:00am Slosh slosh slosh. Nope, not the sound of me making wudu, its the sound of my stomach - you know what mothers are like - have ONE more glass of water (and thats usually an order :P). I guess drinking water is the thing I miss most during the day. But again Allah swt has blessed my family and I with ample supplies of running water. There are those who have no taps, no running water. They who must wake up early and walk however far to fetch water before they can even think of making wudu to pray the tahajjud or fajr salahs. These are the people with true sabr (patience) - may Allah swt increase them in it. 11:30(ish)am Right now I am one happy lady. Usually at this time I would be sitting in the middle of a very boring (but unfortunately mandatory) class on equity and trust law ???. Instead I have reading week (which is like a mid-semester holiday for a week :-X). So, I am doing my homework from my Islamic Texts and Quran and Hadith courses, as well as teaching daddy how to send e-cards! ::) Ive experienced some rumbles (verging on minor earthquakes!!! :o) - because I usually eat at this time - I gave my father something to snicker at. 11:45am Zuhr time 2:11pm Asr time 4.26pm My father, brother and I are on the way home in the car. Alhamdulillah were about 5 minutes from home so we wont miss our Maghrib salah, but we do have to make iftar in the car. Some dates and pieces of fruit - water will have to wait until we get home (its not a good idea to try and drink water and write when youre going around a roundabout at about 40 mph!). Although its not ideal we have the radio on which is set to an Arab station playing the adhaan - so its not all bad. Every weekday during Ramadan we have to break our fast in this way - it is only the weekends that all the family will be able to get together around a [i]table[/i] and open our fasts together. 10:00pm Ive just come back from tarawih at the masjid. (I went to Islamic Cultural Centre, Finchley - for those fellow Brits) Its wonderful how after 2 days, you begin to recognise sisters faces, and smile shyly at each other when you say salaam :-). Theres not much time to talk, but Im sure eventually the regulars begin to talk to each other. We read part of the 3rd juz and the 4th juz tonight. Subhanallah there were about four rakaahs where the Imams voice was shaking with soo much emotion when he read the passages about the day of judgement and punishment on that day. --------------------- Alhamdulillah writing this diary yesterday was a positive exercise for me because it meant I really had to think about what I was doing with my time, and making sure I wasnt wasting it. I didnt give an account of the whole day - I thought it would be more interesting just to pick up on certain parts of the day. So what did I gain from my fast yesterday? I hope (inshallah) that Ive progressed in increasing my level of sabr, controlling my temper and avoiding arguments. Alhamdulillah I kept my Ramadan resolution of praying tahajjud in the morning and going to the masjid for tarawih. [i]Allahumma innaka affuwwun tuhibbul afwa fafu annee[/i] [wlm] |
| 11/08/02 at 09:40:12 |
| gift |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
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| M.F. |
| 11/09/02 at 15:06:07 |
| Bismillah, Al hamdu lillah for the first time I can remember, Morocco started fasting the same day as the rest of the world!!!! Usually we trail behind by a day. I don't feel cheated this year :) Al hamdu lillah. It's been easy so far al hamdu lillah. I asked Allah to make it easy for me and to help me fast through the month and I keep asking Him every once in a while, so insha Allah the whole month will be easy. Sure, I get tired at the end of the day, but who doesn't. Wierd stuff happens sometimes. When my stomach is empty the baby feels extra heavy :) I'm supposed to start feeling it move soon insha Allah. Insha Allah about 2 days after Eid an angel is going to blow life into him or her and write down his lifespan, his living, his deeds, and whether he'll be content or sad. One du'a I've been making from the beginning and especially in Ramadan is that Allah write him or her among the content. OK here's how this fourth day of Ramadan went: 4:20 a.m. One hour till Fajr. Hubby and I get up to pray a few Rak'aas before fajr. At 5 he tells me to eat something. My doctor told me I could fast if I ate a meal for Suhoor and drank plenty of water, so I try to eat as much as I can and drink about 3 glasses of water, plus my vitamins. My husband eats a few dates and some cake and that carries him through the day :) Hubby leaves for Fajr, and I pray at home, after my first bathroom break. I crawl into bed. 15 mn later, second trip to the bathroom. Half an hour later; third trip, at about 6:30, I have to go again. I finally drift off to sleep. back up at abouy 8.... and so it goes. It's all part of the joys of pregnancy. We wake up at 10. It's Saturday so al hamdu lillah we can sleep in a little. We went to see some houses for sale. We're thinking very seriously about moving because we live in a bad area in town, plus we're on the 5th floor, no elevator. It seems like there's no way to buy a house without getting a loan from the bank, and that means Riba of course. If you're very rich you can buy the house in installments, but you really have to have a lot of money. Al Qaradawi made a fatwa that you could take out a loan if it's to buy your primary residence, but it just doesn't sit well with me and hubby, wallahu a'lam. The lady that showed us the houses didn't know that taking a loan from the bank involved riba... 3:00 p.m. We watch Amr Khaled telling the story of Khalid Ibn Al Waleed. Ma sha Allah :) Hubby is making plans for hajj. He wants to go on behalf of his mother who died when he was a child. He's going as a hajj guide this year insha Allah :) 5:00 I get up to start preparing Iftar. Al hamdu lillah my husband has very simple tastes and we didn't go through the frenzy that almost all Moroccan families go through before Ramadan and before Iftar. He likes this sort of cream of wheat stuff that's really easy to make. That and dates, plus a few sweets that a friend gave me to taste. That's it :) 5:34: Azhan for Maghreb 6:15, husband drifts to sleep :D 6.40 he gets up to leave for Isha and Taraweeh. I decide to pray at home because I'm pretty tired and he's meeting a friend after the prayer, and I don't feel like hanging around while they talk, it's cold outside. Right now (8:00). Tareq Al Suwaidan is giving a tafseer of Ayat Al Kursi on TV. Ramadan TV programming is great. Amr Khaled will be talking after this. Last night he was talking about Tawba. He told an amazing story of the tawba of Malik ibn Dinar. Insha Allah I'll post it somewhere else. Insha Allah in an hour or so I'll start making dinner. We really need to have vegetables today :) That's it. On weekdays I work from 9-3 (Ramadan hours) That's the only difference . Al hamdu lillah. Assalamu alaikum |
| 11/09/02 at 15:12:35 |
| M.F. |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
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| UmmWafi |
| 11/10/02 at 20:16:09 |
| [slm] 5th Ramadan/10 Nov 2002 5am Woke up for sahur and try to gently wake my son up. (Alhamdulillah he has been fasting full days). Son woke up very reluctantly and started blinking. He looked at me accusingly and I smiled. Son wanted to have cornflakes and milk so I shared that meal with him. Thank God my mom cooks the regular meal so I am spared from preparing hubby's meal. After subh, I slept. 9am Son insisted on having his milk. Tried to talk and rationalised but didnt work so exerted some psychological stuff only mothers are good at. It worked. 2pm After zuhr prayers son asked some existential questions and since he was still upset he cant be imam instead of dad, he asked some pretty cool stuff abt how to become an imam. Abah was seen conspicuously slinking away to bed since it was raining heavily, so Ummi is left to get it into his head to just obey instructions till he is 18 ! Just kidding :) 3pm Daughter is being deployed as fast breaker by son who told her that if she gets him his milk he will give her his bey blade. Daughter is heard saying "Milk tin is too high for me to take". Mission unsuccessful. 3.30pm Tired Ummi is getting sleepy since rain is still pouring so bundled up 2 disgruntled kids and put them to sleep. Quiet reigns. 6pm After 'Asr prayers (late I know) went to kitchen to start making roti john (its pre-cooked minced meat layered on top of a halfed french loaf and covered with beaten egg before put to cook over skillet or flat pan). Peeps in my house like my version cos I use lotsa spices like basil sage thyme and oregano to cook meat. Either that or they wanna see me suffer. 7.30pm After Magrib, overheard son telling daughter she wont get new clothes and shoes for Eid since she didnt fast. Heated argument followed. Grandpa came to the rescue by telling the diva Solehah that she will have new clothes. Wafi seen to be irritated that his taunts failed. 8pm Went to the Ramadan bazaar to get some dates for my grandma (she is like the Mafia don so when she says she ONLY want the expensive Madinah dates that was what I had to look for). Mission not accomplished cos dates quality bad and all of us were distracted by other stuff. 10pm Son grumbled at having to do Isya' prayers cos he is very sleepy. After prayers tho, he gained alertness and ate 3 pieces of garlic bread. Sleep seemed impossible so Ummi had to wait before she can do her tarawih. 12.30am Attempted to do some work on term paper but sleep is more attractive. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz |
| 11/10/02 at 20:18:46 |
| UmmWafi |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
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| jannah |
| 11/12/02 at 02:19:45 |
| [color=purple] Ramadan 1423.... ..... The Masjid we frequent is a little far from our house in a city called Troy. In the 1800's it was a huge industrial boom town with beautiful architecture and houses along the Hudson river. The aristocratic elite of New York City used to travel upriver to Troy for entertainment or to Saratoga, a nearby natural springs spa. Today it is depressed urban city. The houses are dilapidated, shops are always going out of business, and the city government cannot contain the crime. The major lifeblood of the city currently is the polytechnic engineering college where many foreign students come to study. This past year for example there are 80 undergraduates from Malaysia alone! Because of this influx of foreign students many Muslims have gone through the school and have over time established a masjid on the same street as the school. The masjid is a two story house that went through many transformations, the latest being a mortuary! The downstairs contains a main living room area for the brothers and a room further in the back for the sisters with a side entrance. The upstairs apartment had been rented out once but is now classrooms for the kids on the weekends. During Taraweeh the sisters take over the entire top floor and the brothers the bottom two, including the furnished basement. So on the 5th night of Ramadan some of us "younger" sisters decided to take over this top floor and do I'tikaaf in this Masjid. We slept a little, went to dunkin donuts and a gas station to get some suhoor, then prayed a little together, listened to a dua, had some "alone" time to do ibadah, did salatul tasbeeh. After suhoor we prayed Fajr together with the arriving brothers. The next morning some of us went home to sleep for awhile, some of us stayed in the masjid and then attended a class by our Imam during the afternoon. After this class at about 3pm we all rejoined at the polytechnic for a Ramadan program. The program started with a storytelling by one of the sisters on one of the battles during this holy month in the history of Islam, then another Imam gave a little class on Ramadan - the do's and don'ts, some hadiths and guidelines. The audience was made up of many Malaysians (who had cosponsored the event), regular MSA goers (also cosponsors), and curiously one nonMuslim math professor. The audience then asked some general questions about Islam, along with the professor asking about a point in a particular Hadith. We then had some nice entertainment with 6 or 7 Malaysian brothers who sang some Raihan nasheeds in perfect harmony about the Prophet saw. The program then ended with the adhan for Maghrib and we all took some dates and water and prayed. After prayer, we were invited to have our iftar in the classroom next door with some Malaysian rice, some hot chicken and green coconut halwa dessert. We then headed back to our cars and drove down the two and a half blocks to the Masjid where we found all the parking spots taken up and down the busy street, so we parked in the eye doctor's lot nearby and entered the masjid a short while later. Each Ramadan our Imam reads 1/2 of the Quran. Having completed the Quran last year, this year he began again, and this night he read from Surah Baqara about ayah184. (Many of us read the Quran hizb and translation the night before to get a better understanding and feeling while in Taraweeh.) After the 8 + 3 rakats we all spilled out into the street. The Arab Christians living across the street seemed nonchalant, the college students on the porch a few houses away seemed more drunk than usual. Thus ended the 6th night of Ramadan, and thus ends the official diary :) .... The next day we had opportunity to travel downstate for a family iftar. After breaking our fast and pleasantries we left to pray Taraweeh at the local masjid. This masjid we heard was nicknamed the "dollhouse" masjid by locals, because of it's beautiful architecture and location on a large hill on a corner. As we drove up, it indeed looked like a huge dollhouse, with the lights appearing in the tiny windows and a circular fountain with gushing water and landscaping lights out front. Located a little outside of the main urban area in a more residential area, most of the frequenters to this masjid are families that work in the big software companies in the area or local hospitals. Many people seemed to be leaving as we drove up after a busy community dinner. Each of the four planned dinners we learned would cost the masjid five thousand dollars each. We entered through the main entrance into the marble hallway and took the stairs on the left to the balcony above for Taraweeh. On the way we found it odd to see many women in shalwar kameez not wearing hijab in the Masjid. Downstairs we noticed many of the women cleaning up the remains of the community dinner while Taraweeh was going on above. The twenty rakats here took about the same time as the usual 8 at our masjid, just with shorter standing times. This night one of the local sons of the community who had gone to hafiz school was leading half the rakats. In a side room, we saw some 12 year old girls, some in shalwar kameez, some in jeans mooning over a yearbook and dialing friends on their cell phones. Many people left after Isha and as the 20 rakats progressed some people left after 8, some after 10 and some stayed until the end. After taraweeh the translation of the verses read during the prayer were explained and we went outside to mingle and say our goodbyes and then headed back home. [/color] |
| NS |
| 11/12/02 at 02:41:52 |
| jannah |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
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| Red |
| 11/14/02 at 15:06:47 |
| November 13, 2002 Bismillah- hirma- narhem My life nowadays center completely on college. Wednesdays are always my very long days. After my family woke up and ate for suhoor, I got ready to drop my mom off for work. She works at a school, so I have to drop her off at 6:30, and head off to college and wait around for my 8:00 lab (ugh, those are always so tough). I spent my time trying to register for next semester classes and finishing up my lab work. After lab, I spent some time studying and left for my math class. In between classes, I always hang around the library, especially during Ramadan. After class, I checked out a few things on the Madina board. My next class does not start till around 2:30, so I have to wait around for about three hours. Since I have a lot of time today, I finally get a chance to do things I have been meaning to do like reading more about the prophets. The one thing that really caught my eye while I was reading was the story of Prophet Ibrahim. I am just so amazed how Prophet Ibrahim, was able to come to realize Allah subwatallah. He was around people and his own father who worshiped idols! He was able by himself; come to realize that there is only one true god, Allah. Sometimes I wonder, if I was not born a Muslim, what I would be like. Because my family is desi, that might have meant I would have been Hindu! Would I ever come to realize the oneness of Allah? I believe that people are born with the oneness and idea of Allah, but later in my life would I ever think about what I believe? I cannot positively say yes, because Allah knows best. All I know is that I thank Allah a thousand times for making me born a Muslim! I am always amazed at people who convert to Islam, because they had to struggle so much about what they believe. But I think that goes for all the people of this world including Muslims, because what we believe is what keeps us going in this life. After spending some time reading and pondering, I go to the nearest couch in the library and sleep for awhile! During Ramadan it more than essential to catch up on some sleep :) . After classes I head home and pray Zuhr and Asr. Then I open up fast with my family and dig in to some food my father cooked today! I think he needed to add some salt, but we of course tell him its great :D :D ! I have to go back to school from 7 to 9 with my mentoring group. Its a great group but the only problem is that I have to meet Monday through Thursday, 7 to 9, which does not give me a chance to do many tarweeh prayers at the Masjid during Ramadan. Today I am not so tired when I get home (that nap must have really helped ;)), so I decide to do tarweeh prayers with the Surahs I have memorized. Its been a very good day mashallah! Alright, so that the end of my diary entry. Take a peek while ya can your not going to get to read my diary again, except possibly next Ramadan! |
| 11/14/02 at 15:10:24 |
| Red |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
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| tq |
| 11/14/02 at 22:24:09 |
| Assalamo elikuim November 14. Woke up at 4:30am and thought about lying down again for just 5 minutes. Woke up again at 10 minutes to 5am ! Jumped out of the bed , made the suhoor (oatmeal for hubby,egg and bread for me and son and ofcourse tea ), woke husband and son , everybody ate suhoor. Prayed fajr and everybody went to bed except me since I have to be up agian in one hour so there is no point in sleeping. Read one juz (I am just about 2 juz behind our hafiz at masjid but Inshallah will try to catch up). Woke husband and son again at 7am. Husband leaves for work. Dress son for school and woke younger son so that we can go and drop older one to school. Usually older one takes bus to school but today he had to take his science project which would be difficuilt to carry in the bus. Just made in time to school(actually 5 minutes late :) ). Around 8:45 am tried to sleep but younger one was in a very play full mood so got up from the bed(it is kind of difficuilt to sleep when a five year old is trying to talk to you and jumping on you :) ) Left the house around 12:20 pm to drop younger son to school( he is in PM KG). Stays there for 15-20minutes so that he can play there(school starts at 12:45pm). Rush to older son school (today is one of my day to volounteer at his school). Reached school/masjid just in time for jamat( dhur prayers). Teacher had some chores for me to do so did that till 3pm. Missed the jamat for Asr, prayed Asr at the masjid and left the school/masjid to pick younger one from the school. Came back to house around 3:45pm. Luckily dont have to cook today since we had some ground beef left form yesterday, just made lentil(chana dal with a little sauf - has anyone tried it before?). Peeled and cut fruits for fruit chaat(salad). Bake some onioin rings(trying to be healthy this ramadan therefore only making pakoras(yum!yum) on weekends). Around 4:20pm walked with younger one to the bus stop to pick older one. Around 4:38pm husbands comes from work . 4:46pm everybody break fast with dates,fruit chaat and onion rings. Pray maghrib with jammat at our house and then eat the dinner. Husbands went to sleep for half an hour before taraweeh, I drunk my tea and help the older one with homework. Around 7pm the whole happy family:) left for taraweeh. Mashallah the Hafiz is awesome , he has been called specially from Egypt for taraweeh. Older son prayed isha and then wnet to babysitting in the masjid since many of his school friends we3re there. Younger one stayed with me during taraweeh( Alhamdullah he has been very good about being quite - sometimes he prays with me sometimes just plays with his toys). Came back to house around 9:30pm. Iron older one uniform for next day. Hubby eats remaining of fruit chat. Gave final warning to both kids to sleep around 9:45-10pm. Log on to madina message board and typed this . Hoping to sleep soon since I am very tierd and tomorrow will be as exciting as today Inshallah :) |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
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| merimda |
| 11/18/02 at 11:46:22 |
| Bismillah Al Rahman Al Raheem, 12th of Ramadan 1423 / Sunday, November 17, 2002 5:15 am Mother wakes us all (except for my youngest brother) up for suhoor. Could hardly get out of bed because I only got two hours of sleep. Look out the window and it's still snowing.The city is enveloped in a blanket of snow. The city looks manawar and serene under the snow in the predawn hours. First snow falls are always exciting. The toaster decided not to co-operate with me today so I had to toast the toast in the oven but almost ended up burning it. I have a super chunky peanut butter sandwich and some homemade rice pudding but wasn't able to finish in time so had to put the rest of my pudding in the fridge. My father is spending Ramadan in Egypt this year. If he was here my brothers would have gone to the masjid with him for fajr. Sometimes I would join them. But today my Brothers are too lazy to go the mosque for fajr. The snow is discouraging. They're the first ones to pray and the first ones off to bed. I pray fajr with my Mom and then read some Quran. I am on surat al Araaf and for some reason a couple Ayahs really caught my attention. I had to pause just to read them over again and I discovered something amazing while pondering. It is not something new I had discovered but something I had forgotten or never fully realized. The Ayahs are the following: 155:Moses chose his people, seventy men, for an appointment with Us. When the Tremor Seized them, he said: "My Lord, even though You may have wished to wipe them out and myself (as well) earlier, are You wiping us out just because of what some fools among us have done? It is only Your manner of testing: You let anyone You wish to, go astray by means of it, and let anyone you wish, to be guided. You are our Patron, so pardon us and show us mercy; You are the best Pardoner. 156: Prescribe a fine thing for us in this world and in the hereafter; let us be guided towards You!" He said: "I afflict anyone I wish with My Torment while my mercy embraces everything;I shall prescribe it for those who do their duty, pay the welfare tax, and who believe in Our signs I have fallen behind a few juzs. I hope to catch up soon. But I know I won't get that opportunity today. Three of my friends are coming over for iftaar. One of them is not Muslim. She is an exchange student from Japan. 7 am I go to bed. I hope not to sleep in too late bc I intend to help my mom with the cooking. Around 10 am. I get up, look at the clock and decide to sleep for 15 more minutes 11 am. Look at the clock again; too tired to get up and decide to sleep for half an hour more 12:30 pm Sigh.. I sleep in again. Still very tired but this time I force myself out of bed. I get out and my Mom has the taraweeh prayers on live from the Mecca. Enter the kitchen and to my surprise (and dismay) Mother has most of the iftar done. Feeling very guilty at this point because I slept while my Mom did all the work. I find my youngest brother ( who is fasting) face red and soaking wet. He was out tobogganing with his friends. Much to my relief he only came up to change into `ry clothes and pray dhuhr and then go back outside to play in the snow with his friends again. Alhamdulillah, the snow has spared me a test in patience. When my youngest brother is at home and has nothing to do, my family can do nothing but pray that Allah grants us the patience of Ayuub (as). Unfortunately, I don't get a chance to watch the taraweeh prayers. To relieve my mom and my guilty conscious I decide to wash the dishes and scrub pots. 1:30 pm Finish washing the dishes and tidying up the kitchen. Taraweeh prayers just finish. Sh. Yusuf al Qaradawi is on live on Al Jazeera. He comes on almost every Sunday 1:30 eastern on the Al Jazeera program, Al Sharia wal Haya. The topic today is Zakat. I watch the show whenever I have the time but today I only catch a bit of the show while cracking walnuts for Baklawa. 4:30 pm Finally finish all the housework. House work is so time consuming. Tune in to "Reflections on Islam" Ramadan radio program. I also miss most this show because I was busy making the salad and washing more dishes. I catch the dua at the end. 5:00 pm Athan al Maghrib is called on the radio program. Begin to worry because none of my friends have arrived yet. What are we going to do with all this food! After the Athan one friend calls from her cell phone. She's in not in the city she says. Me: What!? Friend assures me not to worry. She's in her friend's car and on her way but will be one hour late because of snow. Break fast with dates and water and pray maghrib with mom. My brothers went out to break fast with their friends. Youngest brother is at home, though, sitting at the computer playing a game and singing. Singing is annoying but Mom and I tolerate it. Mom and youngest brother have iftaar together. I wait for my freinds. 5:30 pm One friend arrives. Sip our soup and play some Ramadan nasheed and chat while we wait for the other two. 5:45 pm. Other two friends arrive. The snow ends up delaying all my friends but they all managed to make it, Alhamdulillah. Finally, we have a late iftaar at 6pm. Discuss many things over iftaar. One friend shows us pictures of her fiance and then an interesting friendly debate about love ensues. I preferred to remain a neutral observer. Have a good time and some laughs. Some laughs at my expense because I don't know how to make "real" tea. 8 pm We head off for taraweeh. Learn some Japanese words on the way. Japanese friend heads off for home. "Syonara" we say to her. "ma salama" she replies. The rest of us walk to the Islamic centre. The snow at this point has turned into slush. We're very late. We catch the last rakkah of taraweeh. I prayed this last rakkah of taraweeh with the intention of isha. After they finish praying I decided to see if I could could catch a few rakkahs of taraweeh at another mosque. I decide to go to new masjid that opened downtown. I have prayed there I few times and feel a certain attachment to this masjid. I arrive and people are coming out. They just finished the eight. I meet a few freinds at the mosque. Alhamudulillah I managed to pray the last twelve rakkahs and witr . They are on surat al Nahl, I think. 10:30 pm On the way home, I pass by a family building a snowman. That's really cute, I think. These little things cheer me. I get home and to my surprise my whole family is sleeping. I wash some more dishes, eat a little more, type this up and head off to bed around 3 am again. |
| NS |
| 11/20/02 at 22:43:50 |
| merimda |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
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| theOriginal |
| 11/19/02 at 12:50:03 |
| [slm] Monday, Ramadan 13th/November 18th Since my mother and younger brother are visiting, Alhamdulillah, I am woken up to the smell of a good Suhoor. :) I rush downstairs to make sure she hasn't overdone herself, as usual. But there you have it! Parathas and Kheer (quite a good combination, really, even though it might sound a little odd.) My older brother strolls down the stairs, tells her he is extremely grateful for her presence, or else he would have had to eat my cooking this Ramadan. I don't particularly blame him. Am very grateful I don't have to eat my own cooking. Listening to the Ramadan special radio broadcast while eating... Speaker makes an interesting comment about what it means to fast as a Muslim: He says people who have diabetes must fast from sugar, people who have high cholestrol must fast from fatty foods.....people who are Muslim must fast from all foods during the daylight hours of the month of Ramadan, because that is what's best for them... After Fajr, and reading the Qur'an...drop my bro at the station at 7:30. Go home, go to sleep. Supposed to wake up at 8:15. Wake up at 9 am. Decide suddenly to stay at home the whole day. :) Call in Job #1. Concocting some elaborate story of how I was part of some alien experiment, and as a result must stay in the comfortable confines of my home in order to aviod emitting nuclear remnants into the atmosphere. Remind myself it's Ramadan, and I shouldn't try it, even for the entertainment value. "Hi, I'm not going to come to work today." Manager: "Sure." Wow that was ez. Call in Job # 2. "Hi, I'm not going to come to work today." Secretary, "Are you sick?" Me: "Uhh..no" Sec: "Have you spoken to (my boss) about this absence?" Me: "Uhh..no" Sec: "I'll transfer you to him." *gulping* Amusingly enough, he comes up with his own reason why I should stay at home today. "You've been working hard, and I have a deadline tomorrow, so, it might be better if you take the day off and work extra next week." sigh@lawyers...so unpredictable. E-mail French prof to inform her I will be missing the lecture in the afternoon. My parents are selling the house my brother and I currently live in, because it is officially too big for the two of us. (My sis finally convinced them. Mental note: Make lots of duaa for her.) Spend the whole day organizing the house for the Real Estate agent's visit. Mom tackles basement, I tackle my room. (She gets done sooner, doesn't say much about my room.) Pray Dhuhr. Chit-chat with mom. Go grocery shopping. Pray 'Asr. Have to take all the stuff we have cleared out to the Islamic fund on the other end of town. And believe me, I live in a big town. (They are taking in foodstuffs, clothing, money to distribute for Eid.) Get stuck in traffic on the way back. 40 minutes turn into an hour and a half. Break fast in the car. 1 date and some gatorade. Get home in a state of frustration. It's cold, I'm tired, and my brothers have finished the somosas, pakoras and fruit chaat. (lol). Cousin calls. In need of desperate help. As usual she has been procrastinating, and her paper on "hinduism and politics" is due tomorrow. Shows up with her dad, who is non-practicing in a self-proclaimed fashion. Have a heated debate on comparative religion. Funny thing is, he knows more about Islam than I do. May Allah grant him Hidayah (Ameen.) Brothers and mom leave for Tarweeh....I still have my paper to finish writing, so will pray at home. Fall asleep around 2... I am writing this at school (midday, on Tuesday) simply because I had totally forgotten. Sorry for the delay. May all of you have a very meaningful Ramadan. It is almost halfway over. :( Wasalaam. SF. |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
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| Kathy |
| 11/23/02 at 20:17:58 |
| [slm]... Saturday the 22nd of November ï»żI woke up at 4:30 to have Suhoor. Rubbing my eyes I walk into the kitchen and am immediately grateful that I had done the pots and pans from the night before. It was my turn to cook for our community. I had not seen my hubby since the night before, as we were two ships that pass in the night, as often couples are, due to  tarawheeh prayers and work schedules. I wondered if the men liked my food, as I had made stuff that was definitely not Pakistani style which is the only style they serve at our masjid. I looked in the fridge and was grateful that there were no chicken cacciatore or cheesecake leftovers. I am hoping there was enough food and that my husband was pleased with me. I sit eating an orange, banana and some cold cuts that a Muslim family had given us. I canât help but ask Allah swt to reward them and wonder if they even know that the food they gave us feeds my family Suhoor every morning. Then my mind started to wander. About the poor and the rich and how little comprehension there is. Most people knew my hubby was sick and out of work for 6 weeks. As I look at my pots, I must admit I was surprised that they would ask us to cook for the community ~ 60 people, that show up for dinner. Subhanallah a family had just given us 5 chickens this week and Allah swt made it easy for us. I started thinking back to the days when I was rich and my thought processes then, compared to now, when I have had to struggle. Just when I thought we were poor, this time period came upon us when we had no paycheck for the six weeks. Obviously a test. I know in the past when someone was out of work I never thought of offering them some cash or relief. Then, I looked upon those that have helped us and realized it was those who were struggling too- that came to our aid. I eat being grateful that Allah swt has taught me this lesson. I try to decide wether to wake up Ali or not. My little boy (eight years old) has fasted every day and is rapidly losing weight and his lips are all chapped. I go and shake him ever so slightly to wake him up. He never feels it and continues to sleep. I go to wake up my Hubby. I look at him and he looks troubled in his sleep. I wonder if he will ever be well again and pray that this month will bring him a mercy. I pray to Allah swt that I am more patient and understanding as this too is a trial and a test for me. I go back to sleep and begin thinking of this post. What will my day be like as Saturdays are pretty boring compared to my week days? I again am grateful to be able to sleep in with no puppet shows, lectures or community events I need to participate in. Next thing I realize it is time to pray. I notice my hubby is gone to work, to make up for Thanksgiving Friday. Wow! Unbelievable! I am actually able to sleep in. First time in months. Ali is not bugging me, I have no where to go and I bury myself in the covers. Then the phone rings... It is the new Shahadah. She has questions about fasting and purposely breaking it. I donât know this answer and told her I would find out at the Community Dinner tonight. Saturdayâs dinner is different from the weeks. On Saturday everyone comes out. During the week- college kids, poor and the lonely go. I wake up at feed the shark, parakeet, the goldfish, the samurai and other fish in the house. Ali wants his Suhoor. I donât have the heart to tell him that it doesnât count. Later he figures it out, gets mad and heads for the cheese nips! I then go to the computer - check out my e-mail, Islam Q&A and then head over to this Board. Meanwhile Barr IMâs me and we chat about the eating in public for a long time. Then I notice some personal Imâs that I must address. People are in such deep distress and I am hoping that I can comfort and advise them. Again I am grateful that I am not an Imam and could not imagine the burden of knowledge they must have about their communities. Arshad gives me some good advice in one of the areas I have little knowledge of. I am grateful for Muslims like him who unselfishly give their time to help others. Yikes! I hear my hubby coming up the stairs! It is noon! I am still in my pjâs! I look at the clock and see I have spent almost two hours on the computer, I havenât even started this diary and I still have to do a school flyer for CHOW! He wants to go out! Shopping! I can be ready in 15 minutes! We pray and I hi- jack him and Ali to the barbers! Usually I cut their hair, but after two or three times... a professional has to step in! My Hubby is a wee bit nervous when the ex-marine takes a straight edge razor to his neck, soon after asking him what his nationality is. Again I am grateful for growing up here in America where these kind of thoughts would never enter in my mind. We shop for food. A Muslimah who lives in Maryland heard of my hubbyâs sickness and sent us enough money to buy a couple of weeks groceries. I again am grateful to the Muslims and am well aware of how blessed we are. Ali asks me what the best gift I ever received was and I answer without hesitation- Islam. In a couple of hours is the community dinner. I donât want to go. Ali and I cannot eat the food..as it is all too spicy and I think about how other than me and my friend, there is no one there that is not Pakistanian. However, my hubby loves the food and I am sooo grateful that he did not care either way. Yippee!- a nice quiet, non rushed meal, just the three of us. I experimented and made dolmas with Chinese cabbage that someone gave us. It turned out excellent and  I thought I had âconcoctedâ a new dish. My hubby then informed me that his mom had made the same dish! It is getting cold and we put plastic on our windows to keep the drafts out of our homes. For the first time my hubby helps and we bicker the whole time as married couples do.... then I wonder why he never helps! He is tired and goes off to bed. The drugs make him so dopey and I wonder if it hurts him not to have the physical staying quality, which for the first time in ten years, he does not go to Taraaweeh prayers. I wonder about my schedule and being out in the community almost every night, with dawah  lectures, classes, karate and realize I could not do any of this because Taraaweeh prayers would naturally come in as first choice. Allah who allum. Ali and I work a bit on the masjid window display and I realize I havenât read yet.- where does the time go?  I think of the hadith about doing things when you are young and how true it is. My eyes are not as strong as they used to be and I actually have trouble reading. How I misspent my youth. There are so many books to read and so little time!  As a youg'in you never think of your eyes wearing out! Ali is watching Adamâs world as I am typing this and I am grateful for the few moments, as he isnât a TV kid. Arshad just sent an e-mail reminding us of the last 10 nights and I havenât built the cave yet for Lalaytl Quadr.. Yikes . . .  I am so busy and feeling guilty. It is a Motherâs guilt. We want it all for our children, the desserts, activities and instructions that come with this blessed month. (Ali just came in - âMom- one of the kids on Adamâs world has a shirt on saying Bart Simpsonâ- he thinks it is funny. I just let out two sighs. The first sigh because no matter how much we try to shelter our children- they are exposed and the second sigh was for the Muslim editing the video... I will be on TV Monday. They are interviewing Mary and I about Ramadan. Instead of the usual bit about fasting... I want to see if I can spin it to the spiritualness of the month. Insha Allah tomorrow I will study and prepare... or as what usually happens..my mind starts spinning and I stay awake all night.... It is Eight oâclock, the phone calls will start coming in, concerned Muslims as to why I wasnât there tonight. I am so grateful that I belong to the Muslim Community. Subhanna Allah I am blessed to be a Muslim. Ali is calling to me to watch a Ramadan Video... Alas my brothers and sisters... this is a rare chance at bonding.... so I must sign off... As the Imam in Norwich wrote to me: "ï»żThe month of the Quran; the month of Remembrance; the month of Blessings; the month of Forgiveness; the month of Chartity and all manner of Goodness; the month of Tremendous Opportunity; the Holy Month. Let us enter this month full of expectation and let us be true to our intentions, insha-Allah. I ask Allah to strengthen the Muslims and this Ummah. I ask Allah to bring us together as one Ummah for the sake of Allah, under the banner of his Final Messenger, Muhammad, salalahu alaihi was salam. I ask Allah to increase us in knowledge and increase us in deen. Let us not substitute what is lesser for what is greater, and use this blessed time for the healing of our own souls, our families and our communities. May Allah accept our siyam, our qiyam, and our dâua. Wa salaam. |
| 11/23/02 at 20:23:00 |
| Kathy |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
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| deenb4dunya |
| 11/25/02 at 09:45:59 |
| [slm]...SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24TH, 2002 :-* I missed suhoor, but wake up at about 6:45 to pray fajr. After fajr, at about 7:30, I get on the bus to make the long (1 hr) bus trip to my arabic class. My class lasts for about 2.5 hours, from 9-11:30, then I spend about half an hour playing with my teachers children. I then get picked- up and taken to a friends house where I get to chill with my five year old cousin and her friend. *FUN!!* Meanwhile my mom prepares for our bigh iftar tonight. We originally had planned to have a small iftar with 10-15 people, but the the list kept getting longer and the number of ppl wouldn'y fit in our house, so we decided to move it to our friend's house. Anyways... i had a good time with the kids... i helped them memorize suratul-maaoon and I helped them with their hw and we watched Adam's world... etc. Overall.. it wasn't as bad as I anticipated :) Then the guests began arriving... my moms food was the best if I may say so myself :D Everyone had fun, and of course I had to do the cleaning... but it was ok alhamdulillah. AFterwards I went to taraweeh but I was late :(... had too much cleanup to do. Now its MOnday morning and I'm so exhausted from this weekend... i couldnt make it to school even though I have two tests today.. make duaa for me. Wassalamu Alaikum, Deen :-) |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
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| se7en |
| 11/26/02 at 13:09:16 |
| bismillah 11.20.02 (a little late) I skipped suhoor and prayed Fajr in a rush. Even as I made my tasleem I wished I could perform the salah again. Too late though, the malaika already noted that one down, and as I sat studying my janemaaz I wondered how many rushed prayers like that I have on my record. I woke up again six hours later, not understanding how I could have slept so soundly for so long when my Mom was blasting Quran and someone was pounding on the treadmill. (Thats when you *know* youre tired :P) I rushed to school and got to class late, as usual. My Middle East History professor is a Lebanese Christian, and his take on Islamic history is.. interesting. He lectured on the Mongols, their ravaging of Muslim lands that left the Islamic world intellectually and spiritually crippled for centuries.. a truly humiliating and abrupt end to the glory of the Golden Age. I remember something Dr. Tariq Ramadan said at the last ISNA conference that our concepts of darul Islam and darul Kuffr are outdated.. that they stem from the mentality of us vs. them, deeply impressed in the Muslim psyche since the Mongol hordes slaughter. I think the paralysis that began with the Mongols intensified with colonization; and with the new war on terror, I wonder how much more the body of our ummah can take. In class, a sister and I break our fast with bottled water and a twix each ;) Afterwards, we pray maghrib in a tiny hallway, our hearts and heads humbled, as the dust motes in the air performed their own type of dhikr. My friend has another class, and I chill in the computer lab until shes done. Checking my email, I think about how many hours Ive spent in front of a monitor since I was like 11. Since middle school, Ive spent more time with a computer than what I know is healthy. I wonder about how much its affected my social skills, my intelligence, my eman. I surf around on internet addiction and find out I have like 14/15 of the symptoms! Then I realize that theres something really wrong with trying to find out about internet addiction *on* the internet :P My friend gets out of class, and we take an hour bus ride to the masjid in a city closeby. Our families have known each other since before our births, but it was only until recently when we had some classes together - that weve become very close. Theres something really nice about talking with someone whos known you your entire life, understands you inside and out, that you can open up to without fear of judgement or harshness. We talk about life, mujahada, marriage, expectations for the future, as the rhythm of people moving on and off keeps the bus in slow forward movement. Finally, we get off and walk the few blocks to the masjid, eat some food thats left over from the iftaar, and pray taraweeh. Its eight rakaat at this masjid, the recitation slow and piercing. We close ourselves off in a room away from the screaming children, and pour our hearts into the prayer. After witr, six girls pack into my sisters car, and we stop by one of the sisters houses for a minute. Something seemed fishy.. then they bring out a cheesecake and wish me happy birthday :) It wasnt an official birthday thing, but something sweet they wanted to do for me and it made me *really* happy. My friends are awesome :) After that.. my sister and I return home and we lived happily ever after :) THE END!!!! wasalaamu alaykum wa rahmatAllah |
| 11/27/02 at 00:28:53 |
| se7en |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
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| Shahida |
| 11/27/02 at 02:11:59 |
| [slm] I started a new thread cuz my diary for the21-22 Ramadaan was just so long....forgive me! And I dont know how much of a "diary" it really is! I just typed out whatever came to mind, and inshaAllah, thats ok right? The new thread is called "Ramadaan Diary of a South African Muslima" Wasalaam Shahida :-) P.s Happy B-day Se7en ;) have a Bebsi [] on me at Iftaar tonight? |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
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| eleanor |
| 11/29/02 at 05:55:57 |
| [slm] okay I was put down for like two days ago or something but due to reasons which all the sisters will understand, I didn't fast ;) Here's my diary for today - Friday, 29th of November. 5.13 - I'm awakened by my husband turning on the light and getting out of bed. I never seem to hear the alarm. Either that or he woke up before the alarm went off. I get out of bed, strangely not too sleepy, and head for the kitchen. We have been eating muesli and bananas on weekdays for sehri and something like eggs or paratha on the weekend. I feel glad that I am back fasting today and am thankful to Allah for a number of reasons. My resolution for Ramadan this year, as in previous years, was just to get through the month by fasting every day. Up until this year I haven't stuck it out properly. This year I am determined to do it right, coz who knows - it could be my last! Today is the crucial day. The pattern is usually that I fast very determinedly at the start, then after the first few days you get into a routine so it's all good. But the few days break in the fast gets me every time. This year will, Insha Allah, be different. I am very optimistic that I will carry on through till Eid, Insha Allah. 9.30 - in school. It's the first break. My friends are going outside to buy coffee. They offer to bring me some back - I have drank coffee every morning for the last few days, so their offer is not unusual. I decline their offer. 11.30 - because today is Friday we have an early lunchbreak. We also finish early, at 14.30. Now it's lunchtime which is pretty easy because we have internet access at lunchtime. So I just stay put and surf the net. It's hard when people all around are eating and drinking, but I am not tempted to break my fast. ...to be cont'd |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
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| Abd_al-Rashid |
| 12/01/02 at 09:18:04 |
| [slm] 25th of Ramadan, 1423/ November 30, 2002 [color=Blue]12:50 AM-[/color] I set the alarm for 1:15, but Allah woke me up at this time. Right away, shaytan started whispering that I really didnt have to go to the masjid, that I could sleep until Suhoor. But alhamdulilah I got up, made wudhu, and got in the car. It was chilly out, and I felt grateful to Allah for sending the cool breeze, remembering all those times I had sweated like a slave. Arriving at the masjid, I was hoping the brothers hadnt prayed Qiyam yet, and walking in I felt the peace and tranquility that is found in a place where Allah is mentioned and praised. Brothers were just hanging out, so I prayed tahiyyatul masjid, made myself a cup of chai, [] (ignore bebzi logo) and then joined the circle. (I'd like to take this opportunity to formally petition the mods to make a chai icon) ;-) The conversation was about the people of the book. Its a very popular topic at this masjid since it is located right next to a church. A brother mentioned how he once asked a Christian: when Jesus died, who controlled the universe for 3 days? The Christian said: God brother asked: But you believe Jesus is God, does that mean God died? The Christian said: of course not then the brother: So then Jesus is not God Christian: Yes, he is, but finally the Christian said Ill get back to you [color=Blue]2:35 AM-[/color] After the circle I tried to take a nap, but its impossible with brothers who wont leave you alone. So we decided that prayer is better than sleep and prayed Qiyam. Its a humbling experience to stand before the Creator on a cold Friday night, when most people my age are busy in a bar or nightclub. I just felt an overwhelming need to thank Allah for guiding me to Islam or else I would still be partying my way straight into hellfire. (This reminds me of an inside joke we have, ShirkMan it goes: Look! On the TV! Its the father its the son no, its ShirkMan! Able to leap into hellfire in a single bound!) All praise is for Allah for making me MuslimMan. [color=Blue]3:40 AM-[/color] Time to eat. Suhoor consists of pita bread, cream cheese, and mango juice. Tonight a new brother joined us; he has been Muslim for about a year and is from Haiti. He told us that he was watching a program on the TV and they showed Muslims in Salat, he was puzzled and asked an Arab girl he knew what is that, Ive never seen that and she was shocked. What do you mean, thats how Muslims pray and he was like Muslims? Turns out she was Muslim too but of course he didnt know (she didnt wear hijab at the time). So from there he started studying on his own and took shahadah. The amazing thing to me is that apart from being guided through the one-eyed shaytan (I guess TV is good for something after all), he has a full beard. I asked him how come and he said its from the Sunnah, he read the hadith and heard and obeyed. I was like la ilaha illa Allah! We have to give dawah to the born Muslims about not resembling the polytheists, and here new brothers read one hadith and throw away the razor. [color=Blue]4:35 AM-[/color] we pick up everything from the floor and everyone goes to a corner. Some brothers sleep, others pray, and myself and a couple of others read Quran. I open up to Surah al-Baqarah and memorize some ayat for an hour until [color=Blue]5:40 AM-[/color] Adhan for Fajr is called. We pray at 6 and afterwards the shaykh gives a talk about the Day of Judgment. He mentions the mountains crumbling, and the people being raised up into two groups: those who believe and those who dont. Each nation, tribe, and group will go to whom they followed. On that day Allah will be Merciful but at the same time Just. The ones who disbelieved in the Hour will immediately be sorry, but Hell will call to them, and it wont stop until it is full. What a way to start the day! But actually its a good thing, since we live so comfortably here we start to fall in love with dunya and forget the meeting with the grave. [color=Blue]8:03 AM-[/color] Now Im home typing this, and since I only slept 3 hours last night Im going to sleep now, so Im gonna leave the computer [url=http://www.iwebaudio.net]downloading[/url] some Quran off the net and while I do that, you can read about Islam in Miami The NOI was active in the early 60s; in fact still functioning to this day is Muhammads Mosque # 28 in Liberty City, the historically black neighborhood of the inner city. After the death of Elijah Muhammad, the building in which the mosque was located came under the direction of his son Warith Deen and was converted to a full-time masjid and elementary school and given the name Masjid al-Ansar. In the early 80s a group of students pooled some money and bought a small house, which was also converted to a masjid and named Miami Masjid. This one is located in a Latino neighborhood and its where I took my shahadah five years ago. Also in the 80s and early 90s came the heavy Indo-Pak immigration and two musalla were established in rented storefronts, Miami Gardens Masjid in the north and Masjid an-Noor in the south. After years of fundraising the actual masajid were built, with Masjid Noor just moving into its new location a year and a half ago. The newest masjid is Masjid al-Ihsan, built three years ago and located in a Guyanese neighborhood on the Southside. There are also three rented storefronts, one downtown and two in the north side. As you can see Miami is a heavily segregated city. Entire neighborhoods are all black, all Latino, all Haitian, or all Caribbean. Muslims are scattered throughout the city, with the heaviest concentration found in the north side in the black neighborhoods, since Islam has a history there. As for me, I live in the south and the closest masjid is Noor, but now I go to Ihsan more since there is more diversity, less innovation and cultural Islam. For a long time when Masjid Noor was in the storefront it was just a place to pray and speak Urdu. But lately within the past 3 years there has been more immigration from the Arab world and Africa, plus the Latinos coming to Islam. Nowadays there are more dawah efforts and reaching out to the community. [color=Blue]2:41 PM-[/color] Astaghferulah! I have to hurry and pray Dhuhr before the time is up. After salat I download some more Surat, wash the dishes, and sort what I need to pack and what to throw away since I will be moving soon insha'allah. No day is complete without checking my email, just like se7en I am addicted to this box and I try to rationalize it by thinking that since I dont watch TV I have to get my news from the net, plus maybe I got an important message from someone. After deleting the junk (no new messages) I download some more. [color=Blue]4:06 PM-[/color] Time for the middle prayer. Afterwards I get off the net to see if anyone called and in fact a brother did, asking for a ride to the Iftar at the masjid. I call him back and we agree on the time. This brother is Puerto Rican, and he was born Muslim. His parents took shahadah with the same shaykh that led the Salat at Shaheed (inshaallah) Malcolm Xs Janazah. Hes always telling me stories about growing up in Brooklyn and I am grateful for this brother, because with a wife and two sons hes always looking out for us and keen on going to the masjid. [color=Blue]5:21 PM-[/color] We (myself, the brother, and his two young mujahideen) arrive at Masjid Noor for Iftar. Here they have been doing it every Thursday through Sunday, and every day brings a different cuisine. Today happens to be Iranian day, and after water, dates, and Maghrib, I take my spot behind the table to serve the spicy sauce (I cant remember the name). The menu is rice, meat strips, chicken, and salad. For dessert we had some Pakistani sweets, and I asked what these particular little fried rolls were called, but the ABCDs disappoint me. They call me the honorary Desi, and I put on the exaggerated accent Vat iz deez you are not speeking Urdu, I am going too send yoo to madrasah! Everybody laughs, then we help pick up the chairs and tables and I come back home to type. [color=Blue]7:40 PM-[/color] Time to go for Isha and Taraweeh at Masjid Ihsan, where the shaykh that was brought in from Egypt reads a little slower than the one from South Africa at Masjid Noor. I make it right before the first Rukoo, and after the Isha I look around and see many new faces. Allah has gathered all these Muslims from all over the world in this country and even though some of the parents are stuck in their cultural ways, mashaallah the youth are striving to practice an Islam that is in line with the Book and Sunnah, taking what is good from all the different backgrounds and leaving what is harmful. After Taraweeh the shaykh spoke of the punishment of Allah for those who continually reject the proofs and signs, and for the arrogant ones of the earth. The people of Aad were destroyed because they thought their wealth and military might could save them and make them victorious over all nations. It doesnt take a genius to get the point, I think everyone could read between the lines and see where he was going with this. He said we have a responsibility to this nation in that we have to inform them about Islam and invite to Tawheed or else we are risking the wrath of Allah. [color=Blue]9:38 PM-[/color] Im home, reflecting on the fact that Eid is in less than a week. How can time go by so quickly? Its a minor sign of Qiyamah that time and distances will be shortened. I take stock of my month so far and can count victories in having memorized more ayat and making Qiyam in the masjid for the last ten odd nights. My defeat has been the Internet, I made a resolution to not stay up late on the computer and that went out the window the first week. :'( [move]May Allah accept all of our fasting, duah, salat, and Qiyam, ameen![/move] [wlm] |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
|---|
| AyeshaZ |
| 12/03/02 at 21:18:13 |
| Asalamu alykum, i am really late, i think i was suppose to do 21st nov, i don't remember.. i decided to stick to 29th nov :) ..... *Alhamdullilah, my older sis came over from Pittsburgh for turkey weekend so it was a lot of fun... Thursday, Friday and Saturday it truly felt like Ramadan and my spirit went up :) Suhoor: My dad woke me up and I was just sooo happy that sis and nieces were over that i jumped out of my bed. The first thing i did was checkout my nieces, aliya my 3 yr old niece was snoring ;D adorable chica and Maleeha my 5 month old niece was sleeping peacefully ... I just can't believe how much they have changed in couple of months... Everyone was up, chatting, sisters chilling in the kitchen with mom making omelet, baba... my dad tried to help but got discouraged.. It totally felt like good old days, memories flooding of my childhood and Ramadan... he he, this was the second day in the entire Ramadan i didn't skip or rush for suhoor.. it felt awesome... I prayed fajr, chatted for a bit and dozed offff... Subhan'Allah last Friday of Ramadan and we were blessed enough to have a break from college... 10ish.. everyone started getting ready for jummah.. I swept and mopped the kitchen and was extremely hyper... My nieces were up, aliya and I played our hearts out :) Finally Everyone got ready for jummah!!! Sisters and I cramped in one car and Mom and Dad went in the other one, after jummah they had to get some meat and stuff :) WE enter our beloved Masjid, the parking lot is 3/4 packed, phew alhamdullilah left on time otherwise we prolly had to park outside.. EVERYONE WAS AT THE MASJID :) I trip over 100 million sisters and finally find a spot to sit.. Utterly, happy that I was in one of the first safs. Khatheeb was speaking about how the beautiful month of Ramadan is about to end and the Muslims suffering around the world. SubhanAllah, his recitation was amazing... After prayer we hung out at the masjid for a while, catching up with everyone :) By the time we came home it was time for the preparation of Iftar.. Iftar was yummy, dates, fruit salad and pink milk :) dinner, rice n chicken.. and some potatoes.. bro in law and all left for taraweeh prayers, i really really wanted to go but sister couldn't go cause of my 5 month old niece so i decided to stay with her... We saw this awesome video of Shaykh Humza and talked....The day ended really fast and it finally hit us Ramadan was about to end.... |
| 12/03/02 at 21:24:36 |
| AyeshaZ |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
|---|
| imaazh |
| 12/04/02 at 10:51:10 |
| [slm] So, sorry my dears, I couldn't access the site for a few days, so here's my entry for Monday December 2/ the eve of the 27th night of Ramadhan. Its a bit long, so please bear with me. Suhoor: Here in Australia, where i live, suhoor was at 3.08am that morn. I usually stay up after coming home from taraweh around 10.30pm. So I was already up for suhoor, at about 2.45. Helped my mum prepare the meal, layed out the sufra (eating mat). Went to wake up my siblings. Everyone sits down to eat suhoor. After eating we clear the sufra, tidy the kitchen and go and sit and read some hadith together, then we say the intention to fast. We pray fajr in Jama'at, my dad leads. Then the younger one's sit and recite quran and give their sabaq (lessons) to my dad. The older ones (myself included) go and read on our own. Now its around 4ish so we head back to bed. Its the summer holidays, for everyone so we don't have to worry about getting up early to rush off for school. Around 10am, we are all up and I'm helping my mum prepare for tonights iftar, Mum was asked to make the dhaal, and the rice. Lots of people are expected to come tonight as it is the 27th night. 5.00 My sister and I leave for the mosque with the big pots of dhaal and rice, the rest of the family will follow later. We get to the mosque and are given tasks to do straight away. There are fruits to cut up and the mosque needs to be vacuumed, the plates need to be separated and portions of all the good food like ghulab jamuns and dates and pakora's and rockmelon (cantaloupe?) and watermelons and samoosa's (and boy is my mouth watering) all need to be evenly and strategically placed. Meanwhile more people arrive to help and more food has to be divided. Half for the men's and half for the ladies side. 6.30: Iftar time. The Muadhthin starts making pre-adhan supplications, then he gives the adhan and recites the dua for breaking fast. So after we break fast, we pray maghrib, then everyone comes out for dinner. I help serve on the ladies side. I was the curry girl ("Would you like aloo's with that?). After dinner we clean up as much as we can, then prepare for Isha and Taraweh. Because tonight is the 27th, an odd night, a Qiyam-ul-layl program has been organised. Before Isha starts, the Imam gives a talk on the importance of the last 10 days of Ramadhan and how we should seek laylatul-qadr during the odd nights. Because we are so weak we have only organised a program for one of the odd nights, and he encouraged the people to stay for the program which will include some short talks, collective dhikr, salatul-tasbih, tahajjud, suhoor and end with fajr. Our family is going to stay till after fajr. Tonight is also the night when the recitation of the Qur'an is to be completed. Isha and taraweh finish early today. Usually after taraweh, the Imam gives his reflections on what has been recited during the salat. After this, the dua for khatamul-qur'an (finishing of the qur'an) is given, the Imam explains the way that the dua should be given and presents the relevence and the meaning of the dua and how we shouldn't be selfish and should ask Allah swt for blesssings not only for ourselves but also for our families, communities, the ummah and the rest of mankind. The Imam became very emotional during dua, and it was hard to keep the tears in check. [color=Green]11.30pm[/color] We are all given a 10 minute tea break or as the Imam says: it's "cup tea time". After which we go back inside and some young ones are called on to recite from the Qur'an, then one of the Imams who are present, translates. Another Imam presents a talk on the importance of ibadah during these last ten nights and how we should continue to practice the self-discipline that we have learnt from Ramadhan. The next Imam talks about education, and how we need to educate ourselves, our community and our fellow citizens about our faith. He talked about how the biggest problem facing our ummah was a lack of eduacation, it was quite an interesting talk. 12.am We have another break and go to refresh our wudhu. We all meet back inside for Salatul-Tasbih. The Imam explains how we should pray this particular salaat. After a few more explanations and questions, everyone settles down and prays the salat individually. I decided on doing the long version of the Tasbih, and i was so slow in reciting, that i was last to finish in the ladies side. The Imam had already started reciting thikr. Everyone did thikr together for around 45 minutes. Then we all stood to pray Salatul Tahajjud. After Witr we all went out for our Suhoor. We didn't have much time because by now it was around 2.30 am. 3.00. We finish Suhoor and prepare for fajr salat. After Fajr the Imam thanks us all for participating, and makes dua that all our ibadah is accepted. We all go out and start cleaning up. By the time we finish its around 4.10am, we get home at about 4.30ish. And then its straight to sleep. Reflection: Its nights like these when you really wish that Ramadhan visits us more often. For which other month brings people together to revere Allah in such a beautiful way? May Allah swt keep us all safe and sound so that we have the opportunity to experience this blessing many more times. [wlm] |
| 12/04/02 at 11:01:09 |
| imaazh |
| Re: RAMADAN DIARIES |
|---|
| Barr |
| 12/11/02 at 01:39:16 |
| Assalamu'alaikum :-) Please accept my apologies for sending this late. Afwan. [u][color=blue]Sunday, 1 Dec 2002, 4.15am -ish[/color][/u] A sister gently wakes me up for sahoor... I opened my eyes for awhile, and laid down for a few minutes more. Just before that, I had only closed my eyes for about 10 minutes, lying down on the carpeted floor of the masjid. It had been a long day and night for me. The meeting that was called for just a few days before ended at 2am-ish. Qiyam ensued after that, alhamdulillah. 4.45 am-ish After brushing my teeth and washing up, I left to the multi-purpose hall for sahur. I don't know why, but I was extra hungry during sahur. I'm not usually. Besides, during iftar the night before, I've forced myself to finish whatever's left of a tray of briyani at the masjid. For sahur, we had a tray full of rice, some vegetables and meat. Alhamdulillah, the sisters eating with me have stomachs and hearts big enough not to let each grain of rice be wasted. I always feel happier, when I eat with these kind of sisters... when the "burden" of eating is shared, alhamdulillah. Funny how eating can be burdensome to some. 5.30 am-ish Brushed my teeth, and I took wudu and prepare for Subuh. After Subuh, we went home. I reached home abt 7am, and went straight to my bed, falling into deep slumber. I only woke up at abt 11am-ish from the ringing of the telephone... mom called to check how I am. The family left to do some Eid shopping and mom let me sleep in awhile longer. I was quite disappointed they didn't wake me up, for I wanted to go with them and get some stuff. They came back shortly after Zohor and got some chocolates and nuts for Eid. To my surprise, they even bought a microwave! :o After decades of the existence of microwaves, this is our first. "Just to re-heat" :-* That's what my mom says. As per normal, on Sundays.. just a time to clean the house and chill out with the family at home. 6.46 pm Time passed so fast and its already time for iftar. We broke our fast with dates and water and had a simple meal of fried fish, and some Malay vegetable dish with rice. It was only me and dad who's breaking our fast at home today. My brother was out at work and mom and sis can't fast. I did the laundry earlier and thought of hanging them out to dry while waiting for my dad for maghrib prayers. But my dad was in a hurry to leave for the mosque, and left me to pray maghrib alone. He has never done this before and I was a bit upset with dad. But that soon subsided when I started praying, alhamdulillah. 8.00pm Ahh.. I'm still at home! I quickly rushed to pack my bags and leave for the mosque. Alhamdulillah, the bus came nicely on time and though I reached late, alhamdulillah, I managed to catch the last rakaat for Isha' with the congregation. Alhamdulillah, at least I didn't miss any rakaat for tarawih. I met up with a very close sister of mine at the masjid. We've been friends since we were 13, and have gone through so much together. We did 8 rakaat of tarawih, and decided to have a slurpee, since we were sooo thristy. Tarawih always make me thristy, mashaAllah. We chatted in the car, while having our thirst quenched, and reflected back on our Ramadan, and how fast it went, and how much it has effected us thus far... we pondered on the periods of our lives where we slipped and falter in our faith and wondered what went wrong... we talked on the past, the present and the future. I then left for the mosque, while she went home. InshaALlah, we'll meet again at the mosque for qiyam later. 10.45 pm -ish I reached the mosque after taking the taxi from where my friend left me. I have a certain attachment to this mosque. This mosque is where I met one of my closest sister about 2 years ago, at the women's musollah. Eventhough our friendship only spanned for just 2 years, but Allah has brought us so close together. Like me, she studied overseas for her degree. Though she went to an Islamic University, there are many experinces that are very similar that we share.. our aspirations and dreams, for the future are all very similar. She has now left the country after she got married... but this mosque would always remind me of her. This mosque is also the mosque where some dedicated souls have worked hard to transform a mosque that was once only used for prayers... to what it is now.. a very much sought after and quality pre-school and a centre for tahfiz. And I feel so blessed to know some of those hearts who have worked hard for a greater cause, mashaAllah. 12.30am Monday, 2 December 2002 I suddenly looked up, from my reading... and I saw 2 little girls, in their little hijabs, standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder, towards the qiblah... and doing the movements of prayer.. as if one is leading the other in jamaah. I felt such coolness in my eyes, and I smiled.. alhamdulillah. I noticed that one of the girls is the 5-year old daughter of a sister whom I know. The sister was just a few metres away from me, sleeping with her 2 year old daughter. How blessed is she, I felt... to have given the gift of children, and teaching them the greatest gift that any creature could have, for her children to grow with Islam in their hearts. She may not know how much her daughter's actions affected me, and she may be asleep, while her daughter is in prayers to Allah, but I see her in her daughter, and I see her motherly love and struggle, as far as I can in these eyes of mine who have never tasted motherhood. At the same time, I remembered Umm Wafi's post (in teh Bebzi Stand) on her son's pre-school education graduation (which, co-incidently happened at this mosque), and the fear of how our chidlren would grow... amidst the fitnah that occurs continuously. And I fear the day when this little girl who prayed would grow, giving up what her mother has imbibed and nurtured her with. 3.00am -ish I felt as if I have slept for a long while... though I know, its just been for a few hours. I rested my eyes for a while longer before going to the toilet to wash up and take my wudu'. I noticed another close sister of mine was at the mosque too, while I was on my way to wash up. She's a mother of six children, one of them died at childbirth. She was with all of her chidlren, the youngest 6 months old, and most of them, asleep. I wonder if I have the strength like her and other mothers who kept on going and gained strengthed by giving to others, amidst the commitments that they have. I remembered asking her once.. "Where did U find the strength?" And she said.. " Allah would give it to you, Barr (well, she used my real name, not Barr)" 3.30am We started our tahajjud, the imam for the prayer is one of the student of the tahfiz centre. After 2 rakaat, another student became the imam. After tahajjud, we spent sometime doing our own prayers and personal time with Allah. 5.00am -ish (sahur) Alhamdulillah, the sisters saved me some food to eat, I ate with the same tray together with the sister (with the 6 children). We discussed some soem project that we r embarking over sahur.. and subhanallah.. this sister is always thinking and so full of ideas... 5.27am The azan was heard over the speakers.. it is subuh (Fajr). We quickly cleared the trays and some leftovers and quicky left for wudu and prayers. 6.30am My friend whom I met at tarawih last night was driving us home (She came to the mosque for qiyam). Suddenly, she exclaimed a beautiful sight... a beautiful bright narrow crescent.. and a big bright star... hovering on it... a venus, I later found out.. It filled me with joy, to see a beauty... but sadness soon came... for the moon would soon disappear.. and a new moon would soon come, marking the end of the beloved month... Ramadan. |
| 12/13/02 at 20:59:31 |
| Barr |
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board |